Carnival of Flesh are a Serbian quartet based in Belgrade with a very special story. The Serbian act was formed back in 2002 by Dam and Dachaz, and then split up in 2008 due to continual changes of line-up; the band was however revived in 2014 with the arrival of two new members, Vojin Ratković and Jake O'Bayne. This made the release of their first album possible in 2015: Stories from a Fallen World.Carnival of Flesh deliver a symphonic black metal that breaks definitely the canons of traditional black metal, with influences even coming from doom, thus taking on an epic approach. While the traditional rules have definitely been broken, some slightly prog inserts here and there are vaguely reminiscent of Norwegian Arcturus, as in “The Promise”. The album also contains a very long song, “The Battle”, with its ten minutes that include an intense crescendo. As a symphonic black metal band, the Serbs make a large use of keyboards and combine scream and clean vocals; some songs also feature female vocals. Nevertheless, Carnival of Flesh are far from proposing such bizarre (and boring) solutions to which we have become accustomed to in recent years. It is not the usual, dispersive hodgepodge; on the contrary, their being symphonic does not prevent them from being concrete and going straight to the point. Moreover, the production is excellent, and the music is performed perfectly by these guys who prove to be skilled musicians.As for the lyrics, each song can be read as a chapter of a concept describing a kind of an evil Advent.In a nutshell, Carnival of Flesh bring something new and fresh to the black metal scene; their debut album Stories from a Fallen World is excellent and highly recommended.Notes: Self-released on May 1 2015. One of the members of the band, Dachaz, has moved to the Netherlands, while the rest of the band still lives in Serbia.Tracklist:1.The Beginning2.The Promise3.The Horror4.The Pact5.The Battle6.TheRegretPersonnel:Dam: KeyboardsDachaz: VocalsVojinRatković: DrumsJakeO'Bayne: Guitars, BassText by Herjannherjann@unholyblackmetal.com